Within weeks of coming to power, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led government in Dhaka finds itself mired in a crisis of its own making. The ham-handed manner in which the government has handled the post-election attacks on members of the Hindu community of Bangladesh suggests that it knows virtually nothing about managing social tensions that simmer just beneath the surface of Bangladeshi society. Indeed, the apparent insensitivity could light the flames of permanent communal strife.
It would appear that after five years of trying to dislodge the preceding Awami League (AL) government through means fair and foul – hartals and parliamentary boycotts included – the BNP and its allies seem to have got accustomed to the strong-arm tactics of muscle politics practised by all previous governments. This can only be to the detriment of responsible administration, given that the parties concerned are now in power. The largest-ever cabinet in Bangladesh's history increasingly resembles a motley collection of political novices [?] lining to take decisions that invite public [?]dicule. Clearly, the BNP under Begum Khaleda Zia has forgotten the rudiments of governance it had garnered when it was in power between 1991 and 1996. This is what we learn from the Hindu exodus.
It is public knowledge that many Hindus of Bangladesh fled across the border into India as a consequence of the fear psychosis that gripped the community after there were incidents of assault and rape against them. While the refugees may number no more than a few hundred, the Dhaka government found itself completely unable to manage the fallout. Rather than identify the problem, accept that there had been an exodus, and assure a remedy, it immediately took recourse to denial. This added fuel to the fire, providing ample opportunity for ridicule among the Bangladeshi media and intelligentsia as well as raising hackles toss the border in India.
Hindu political groups in India staged demonstrations demanding that the New Delhi government act to stop the attacks in Bangladesh. In West Bengal, the Left Front government of Buddhadev Bhattacharya issued a strong statement condemning the targeting of Hindus. Other political parties in West Bengal were also not found lacking in capitalising on the events in Bangladesh; some of them have even opened gruel kitchens to feed the refugees.